Germany exports meat

So much meat is produced in Germany that it is not usually consumed entirely in this country. A certain proportion of this has been exported to date. This means that even with the temporary closure of some plants, we are well supplied in Germany. Bottlenecks could arise at most if a worse, second wave of disease were to spread.

Safety measures in butcher’s shops

In order for establishments to protect their employees and thus safeguard the supply of meat to the population, there are comprehensive safety measures that must be observed. It is particularly important to prevent chains of infection in the workplace. Therefore, in many places there is already shift work for clustering. This is based on the respective residential communities and tasks of the employees. It’s a better way for employees to get out of each other’s way. Simply put, if someone from one of the shifts gets sick with CoViD-19, only that one shift will fail. There was no contact with staff from other clusters.

As a matter of principle, strict hygiene regulations apply in food processing plants – disposable protective suits, protective gloves appropriate to the work and the like were part of the employees’ daily bread even before Corona. In addition, there are now further recommended safety regulations:

• Rules for keeping a distance of at least 1.5 meters

• Separation to secure individual employees if no distance can be kept (for example by curtains or plexiglass)

• The wearing of a mouth-nose covering

• Regular checks of the body temperature of employees

• The education of the employees

These measures are recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute. Do you follow such guidelines in your business? Special commissions are set up in some companies to support and protect the workers. These ensure that hygiene measures are observed and are specifically designed to combat the spread of the virus.

#ICannotStayAtHome

Home office? In a butcher’s shop only possible for administrative employees. Some companies were also classified by the authorities as systemically important. A meat shortage is therefore not to be expected thanks to the safety measures taken.

Under the hashtag “I can not stay at home”, the Federal Association of the German Meat Industry (Bundesverband der Deutschen Fleischwarenindustrie e.V.) has founded an initiative together with other associations from the meat industry and trade. This is to show solidarity to the working people. Because in order not to fear a food shortage in Germany, work continues daily in meat processing plants despite the risk. So every evening we still have our coarse sausages or steak on the grill and can enjoy a juicy piece of meat despite the crisis.